Currently 12.6 percent of Smith
Vending's revenue comes from cash-
less purchases, and Nester expects
cashless to grow 10 to 15 percent
in the coming year. "Cashless is so
important to have and if you don't
have it, you better have a reason
why," he said. "It's key to incorporate
technology because Generation Y and
Millennials — the people coming into
the workforce and your consumers
— well, this is how they live," he con -
tinued. "So we ask ourselves, 'Why
would we NOT do this?' We embrace
what the consumers want."
That includes investing in trends
before the customer even asks for it.
Smith Vending recently partnered
to place PepsiCo Hello Goodness
machines to fit a movement towards
healthier lifestyles. "Our job is to pro-
vide a good breakroom experience,
and that includes offering all types of
snacks people like to eat," said Nester.
"But we also didn't want to wait for
a customer to ask us about healthy
offerings, we wanted to be the driver
of the trend."
The company currently has placed
26 PepsiCo Hello Goodness machines,
and Nester notes that they have to
fit the right location to be success-
ful. "Fitness centers and healthcare
facilities tend to work well and we
have a large blue collar location that
supports the machine, but it really
depends on the center."
Nester said there is no written
rule for whether or not the machines
get traffic; that two locations can
have the same demographics but
different purchasing patterns. But
he isn't concerned. "You can't force
health and wellness on people,"
he said. "That would drive people
from vending." Rather, he believes
you offer them choices and they can
make the decision.
Nester openly admits his com-
pany is not in the business of
selling on price. "We are selling
a service," he said. "We are
providing a breakroom experi-
ence for our customers and we
live up to that service." Smith
Vending believes in transpar-
ency when it comes to price
increases — it lets its custom-
ers know well ahead of time
if there will be an increase on
items, and even includes the
price increase notifications on
the company website.
October/November 2016 VendingMarketWatch.com Automatic Merchandiser 41
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